Skip to main content

Shooting Fish In A Barrel

 

Shooting Fish In A Barrel

Watch this on YouTube here - Fishy Idioms - YouTube Video

Meaning:

When a simple task needs to be done and there is guaranteed success in the task. A simple activity.

Example Sentence:

"The size of my apartment is relatively small, so keeping it nice and tidy is like shooting fish in a barrel."

Origin:

    The earliest instance found of this phrase was in a column called By the By! on February 11th, 1902. The column tells a story about 2 men - a high-end tea taster and a man drinking alcohol. the tea tester says that the man drinking alcohol can't tell what he is drinking after only 2 drinks. The drunk man replies "Oh yes I can, and what more I can tell you the brand of alcohol with certainty."  The tea tester takes the bet. After the drinking test was over the drunk man won. He was asked, "How on Earth did you do it?" He replied, "Just as simple as shooting fish in a barrel."
    This saying originates from before modern technology, fish could not be refrigerated so they were packed in barrels for preservation with very little water, any shot fired in the barrel was sure to hit a fish.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

As Snug as a Bug in a Rug

  As Snug As A Bug In A Rug Watch this on YouTube here - Staying In - YouTube Video Meaning: As snug as a bug in a rug means to be very comfortable and cozy. Example Sentence:   “Aww, look at her cuddled up, as snug as a bug in a rug.” Origin: This phrase has been around for a while. The original writing of it was in 1769, in David Garrick's celebration of Shakespeare Garrick's vagary, or, England run mad; with particulars of the Stratford Jubilee. It reads: "If she has the mopus's, I'll have her, as snug as a bug in a rug."     ( Mopus  being a slang word for "money," naturally.)   As snug as a bug in a rug started out with a much different meaning than it has today. The word “snug” was a nautical term; it was first used as an adjective in the 16th century to describe the trim, neat, compact design of a ship. Shortly after that, snug started to be used as a verb and meant “to lie close" (as in "snugging up/together for warmth or ...

Bad Egg

  Bad Egg Watch this on YouTube here - Eggs Video - YouTube Video Meaning: Bad Egg is a disappointing or unpleasant person, someone who fails to meet expectations.  “What a Bad Egg!” Origin: The Term Bad Egg has been around since the 1800s; back in the days before food standards were so high, it was necessary to check that you didn’t crack a bad egg in amongst the other ingredients. Cookbooks advised cracking eggs into a separate bowl to be sure. One bad egg could spoil it all, and the phrase was born; now, it refers to one bad person amongst all the other good ones, can spoil the mood. The phrase bad egg first appeared in print in the novel “Captain Priest” by Samuel A Hammett in 1855; it read: Some birds are said to carry brick-bats under their wings to sharpen their bills, and others, stones in maws to whet their appetites, but the Perfect Bird carries a brick in his hat and a stone in his boot. In the language of his class, the Perfect Bird generally turns out to be ...

Like Nailing Jelly to a Tree

  Like Nailing Jelly to a Tree  Watch this on YouTube here - Tree Video - YouTube Video Meaning: Like Nailing Jelly to a Tree means to deal with a very difficult problem or a problem that cannot be solved. a foolish or worthless attempt at something.  “Ha, that will be like nailing Jelly to a tree.” In America they say "to nail jello to a tree", Jell-O  being a gelatin dessert that comes in fruit flavors. Origin: The origins of both these phrases actually lie in politics. Theodore Roosevelt, in 1915 wrote a letter to William Roscoe Thayer talking about the difficulty he was having negotiating with Columbia regarding the Panama Canal, it said: 'You could no more make an agreement with them than you could nail currant jelly to a wall - and the failure to nail currant jelly to a wall is not due to the nail; it is due to the currant jelly.' Example: Today we do not hear this expression as much, but if you did hear it, it would mean t...